Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 16th Apr 2012 08:26 UTC
"The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The threat to the freedom of the internet comes, he claims, from a combination of governments increasingly trying to control access and communication by their citizens, the entertainment industry's attempts to crack down on piracy, and the rise of 'restrictive' walled gardens such as Facebook and Apple, which tightly control what software can be released on their platforms." That governments - east and west - are trying to destroy the open web, that we know. As for Facebook and Apple... Well, all I know is that it is completely and utterly impossible to check what information Apple has about you. Unlike Google (more here) and to a lesser degree Facebook, Apple provides zero means to see, export, or delete the information they have on you, associated with your Apple ID or otherwise. In 2012, that's just sinister.
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RE[4]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin
by maccouch on Mon 16th Apr 2012 14:38
in reply to "RE[3]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin"
Member since:2012-03-14
i accept that somehow i might have do it accidentally but i seriously doubt it. I am, and always was, very concerned with my privacy, so that kind of option would have caught my eye.
You sure that you didn't also have your history logged in dashboard on some old gmail accounts?
I did a small search and found out this:
"Originally a separate Google Labs project, the My Search History has now been incorporated into Google’s Personalized Search. Log in with a Gmail or other Google account. As with Ask Jeeves, once a user is logged in, all Google searches are tracked. Google does offer a "pause" function that can stop the recording of search results without logging out."
http://www.infotoday.com/online/mar06/OnTheNet.shtml
the date of the article is march/april 2006.
About the pause logging option, never saw it. But i must admit i wasn't looking for it. As gmail and google search we're supposedly two different products i didn't anticipated their joining of data. Of course back then i didn't really understood how google made its money.
About i trusting apple more than google, it's not a matter of "trust" is simply a matter of understanding what their goal/source of profit is.
Google does its all of its money by datamining. Apples does it by selling products. Google wants to refine the data to you specifically. Apple probably only wants aggregated feedback from their products.
As such i trust apple more regarding my data because:
a) they don't make any money directly from it
b) they have no history of doing it.
I would also say that i trust (more or less) Microsoft int he same way. Until the whole bing/hotmail fiasco they had no interest in my data, just in selling me software. With hotmail/bingo i became a bit more concerned but as Microsoft is essentially a giant set of family-angry mini-organizations, i really don't care a lot. Basically i trust them more then google because they are incompetent.
RE[4]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin
by MOS6510 on Tue 17th Apr 2012 05:19
in reply to "RE[3]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin"
Member since:2011-05-12
So, you believe Apple on its blue eyes, but not Google? That's perfectly fine, of course, but you have to be incredibly naive to think that Apple does not use the data it has on its customers to extract more money from them.
But if Google nukes your privacy and sells your data to anyone who wants it you don't mind?
Recently you liked the idea that Google linked all their databases so they could target you even better with ads, but you don't like it if Apple should use the data they have on you to, well, effectively tempts you to spend money?
It seems both want your money, expect Apple doesn't sell it to companies you have never heard about.
What if it becomes accepted that ads you are presented are targeted and embarrassing ads appear when you want to show someone something? You can't claim it's a random ad, because people wouldn't believe it. Surely all ads are tailor made.
Now from Apple I haven't received any 'offers' and my .mac/.me accounts are spam free (unlike my Gmail account). As I use Apple stuff a lot they should have my all figured out, but it doesn't seem I'm targeted for anything.
So it's strange you favor a proven privacy menace over a company you suspect/hope they do so too.
If one was asked before the rise of Google if it would be a good thing if there was one single company that tracks what you read, watch, see, hear,search, email, where you are, etc..., drives through your street and takes pictures of your house while sniffing your WiFi and they're even on mobile phones with mall ware issues... and sell what they find on you to anyone who pays for it... I'm sure many people wouldn't like this.
RE[5]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin
by JAlexoid on Tue 17th Apr 2012 12:02
in reply to "RE[4]: hypocrisy, thy name is Brin"
Member since:2009-05-19
But if Google nukes your privacy and sells your data to anyone who wants it you don't mind?
If Google sells your data where can I buy it? Please do direct me to the portal where I, as an advertiser, can get phone numbers and emails of my visitors just to thank them for visiting.
(This is my canned response to the crap with words "sells your data")
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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Member since:
2005-06-29
So, you believe Apple on its blue eyes, but not Google? That's perfectly fine, of course, but you have to be incredibly naive to think that Apple does not use the data it has on its customers to extract more money from them.
You MUST have enabled it. Maybe you didn't know, did it accidentally, or whatever. But for older accounts, it was only enabled if you opted in. I never opted in, so it's disabled for me. For newer account, it was opt-out.